Follow up

In 2008 the UN Human Rights Committee made a recommendation to re-examine libel laws in the UK

The situation in NI required consideration after the enactment of the Defamation Act 2013 in the rest of the UK

In 2016 and 2017 reviews were conducted by the Department of Finance and Department of Justice agreeing that the law in NI required reform in line with the UN recommendation

In 2022 the Defamation (NI) Act 2022 received Royal Assent

A number of recommendations had been made by the UN ICESCR Committee and the UN CEDAW Committee for legislation to be adopted to decriminalise termination of pregnancy in NI

In 2014 the Department of Justice consulted on amending the criminal law on abortion in certain circumstances, but no further action was taken

The NIHRC initiated legal proceedings to challenge the relevant legislation on the basis of human rights law

In 2018 the UN CEDAW Committee conducted an inquiry into abortion in NI which made findings that led to a reiteration of previous recommendations

In 2019 termination of pregnancy in NI was decriminalised by Westminster under the NI (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, which requires the implementation of the UN CEDAW Committee inquiry’s recommendations